Monday, May 30, 2016

The best way I can give a good assessment of Fired Up Pizzeria is by posting their "Mission and Vision Statement" which is located on the homepage of their website.

"Fired Up Pizzeria is dedicated to the ingredients, quality and traditional methods of producing authentic Neapolitan pizza. Our pizzas are created with handmade dough, fresh mozzarella, and hand crushed tomato sauce. We focus on using high quality imported and local ingredients needed to produce a great pizza and support a great community. We do this with the conviction that when you pour your heart and soul into what you love, excellence can be achieved. Come and enjoy."

Entering Fired Up, expect to be warmly greeted; seating available is indoor and outdoor, but if you want to watch the pizza chef at work, pick indoor - front. The menu lists appetizers, salads, artisan sandwiches, "build your own" pizza, specialty pizza, desserts, drinks, alcoholic drinks, and a kid's menu. After ordering, we watched the pizza chef and he let me take photos of him, and a pepperoni pizza fresh out of the wood burning oven.

We ordered two "build your own", an 8-inch Margherita with meatballs and a 12-inch Margherita with Kalamata olives, red onions, red bell peppers and diced tomatoes. Within 20 minutes we were chowing down on deliciously scented and tasting, crispy pizzas; NO! there was not one slice left over. Surprisingly, we were not overstuffed and decided to try one of the desserts...cannoli.

8 inch Meatball

12 inch Olives, Red Onions, Red Bell Peppers, Diced Tomatoes

﻿

Crispy Crust!

The Cannoli were two waffle cookies, known as Pizzelle, rolled and filled with a lemon zested mascarpone cheese, vanilla glaze drizzled over top. Talk about dying and going to dessert heaven; the lemon, vanilla and mascarpone worked perfectly together; and to our surprise, was not overly sweet. The Pizzelle were light and crisp; skip the spoon, use the fingers and give yourself a great excuse to lick them clean.

Fired Up Pizzeria is definitely the place to go when in the mood for pizza and cannoli; then again, it's a great excuse to go back and try the sandwiches and salads too.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Whenever I've used edamane (soy beans) in a recipe, I usually purchased the frozen, already shelled variety. When I saw the PicSweet brand on sale, I didn't think there was anything strange about the beans still being in the pod. When I cooked them up with the recipe I'm going to giving you, I made a huge mistake on not reading the directions on their package. So, here's the warning: If you cook edamane in the pod, the beans must be removed before or after; you CANNOT eat the pod itself. The dish was still delicious, but we had to pick out each pod, push out the beans and throw out the pods; it was quite a messy meal. I know my Thai friends are going to be rolling on the floor laughing when they read this. Yes Bella (Arches Thai) and Venus (Bangkok House, Bangkok House Too), I can hear you both laughing! That's why you two own the best Thai restaurants in Moab, Utah, not I.

By the way, besides edamane (the beans only!), sugar snap peas (and you can eat the pod!) go great in this recipe too. When it comes to rice and noodle packaged sides, I have found that Knorr tastes much better than other brands, or the store brand copycats; and they have a larger variety. Oh, the package directions tell you to add oil when cooking up the Rice Side; since you already used oil when browning the beef and onions, skip that part of the directions and don't add more oil.

Enjoy!

Beef,
Vegetables with Asian BBQ Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. canola oil

1 lb. lean beef, cut into
one inch pieces

1 small red onion, large
diced

6 oz. frozen peas and
carrots mix

6 oz. frozen sugar snap
peas or shelled edamame

1 package (5.9 oz.) Knorr
Asian BBQ Rice Side

2 cups water

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat
oil on medium-high, brown beef and onions together until red color of beef is
no longer showing.

Add frozen vegetables,
contents of Rice Side package and water; bring to a boil.Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 7
minutes (longer if rice is still too firm).Turn off heat, uncover, allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Utah, the Beehive State, adopted the symbol of the beehive onto its state flag and seal in 1847; representing the qualities of industry, perseverance, thrift, stability, and self-reliance. For the Mormon settlers, who definitely had to live these qualities to survive the unforgiving Wild West, it also meant a deeper connection to their beliefs. Within the Book of Mormon, the name Deseret meant “honeybee”, being derived from the Jaredites; a group believed to have been led to the Americas during the time of the construction of the Tower of Babel. While Christopher Columbus is given major credit for discovering the Americas and archaeological finds place the Vikings here first; let the historians battle out “Who’s On First?”

In many recipes of Native American origin, honey was included; so it would make sense to believe that honeybees were indigenous to the Americas, and you would be only slightly correct. In 2009, paleontologist-entomologist Michael Engel, of the University of Kansas, discovered fossilized remains in Nevada of 14 million year old honeybees which did not survive the Ice Age. (Reference: http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1544 ) It was not until 1622 when white settlers brought over European honey bees; referred to as “white man’s flies” by the local Native American tribes. Bee migration, via swarming, began on the east coast of North America; colonies finally arrived in the West by the middle 1800s. Therefore, honey became an active ingredient in Native cooking along with white flour, sugar and lard; all thanks to the pioneers. (Reference: https://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/newscolumns/archives/OSL/1999/November/111199OSL.html )

Two "Security" Bees at the entrance to each hive.

Bees produce honey, honey is sweet and tastes really good; is that all there is to honey bees? Bees produce - pollen, wax, royal jelly, propolis, honey and bee bread which are chock full of nutritional and health benefits for humans. While not being all that nutritionally balanced, from fermented honey, an alcoholic drink, called mead (Go Vikings!) can be enjoyed. The importance of bees goes beyond the human need of their byproducts; 1/6th of plant pollination worldwide is attributed to bees. Besides bees in the wild, local beekeepers provide a great service in maintaining hives, and coordinating with other beekeepers.

One such beekeeper is local Blanding resident, Ricky Arthur (also co-owner of Patio Drive-In with his wife, Lana). Ricky graciously invited my husband, Roy, and I to visit his hives, introduce us to the honey bees, and give us loads of information. Within each of the hives, a single queen (fed on royal jelly only) emerges to hold reign over the workers (fed bee bread). Did you know that a queen can be dethroned? After a queen lays eggs, multiple females can hatch; one will be the strongest, kill the others and she is the “virgin queen” who will mate with drones. However, the workers watch her progress and if her behavior somehow puts the hive in jeopardy, another queen will be put in her place. Queens will travel as far as 3 to 5 miles to mate with drones from other hives, so as to not mate with her own. Within each hive (colony) live 50, 000 to 100, 000; all constantly gathering pollen and nectar; taking care of the queen and her eggs; many die each day and the colony continues on….busy, busy, busy.

Honey is ready for eating within 3 to 5 days; tastes and scents all dependent upon what flowers were blooming. For example, in spring, the pollen from flowering fruit trees will be much different from those of clover, dandelions, flowers and flowering vegetable plants in summer. Have you ever been tasted by a bee? No, not stung, but tasted and I experienced such an instance at a lavender farm back in Pennsylvania. Bees like salt, so one decided I would be a nice “salt lick”; it was just a little pinch and imagine my surprise that others around me felt cheated at not being chosen.

Currently, Ricky Arthur’s hives provide enough honey for personal family use; however he is hoping to expand out eventually to create a small business. Anyone interested in beekeeping, and becoming a bee farmer, is very welcomed to contact Ricky at: (435) 260-2393. By the way, Ricky loves his bees and you can hear the passion in his voice when he speaks about them. He also created a glass enclosed hive which he keeps inside his home; he will proudly display it and describe the inner workings.

To see the bees in action, go to: https://youtu.be/D-teH-b6vyU created by Desert Stone Studio; my husband Roy’s new videography and visual effects business, or see the video above.

So plant those flowers and fruit trees, do NOT use pesticides, let the dandelions bloom, do NOT swat those precious honey bees…our very existence depends on their work ethics.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

A funeral is a time of sorrow; the passing of a family
member, friend, neighbor that grips the mind and heart with deep sadness.Usually the reasoning is that this person is
missed; no longer can he/she be involved in the lives of the yet living.However, while the funeral is the saying
goodbye, the wake afterwards is the true celebration of, not the death, but the
life.Singing, dancing, tales of
delighted remembrance are all part of the celebration, along with food and
drink.

One such dish for this occasion is “Funeral Potatoes”;
supposedly developed throughout the Intermountain states of Idaho, Nevada and
Utah.Searching through culinary resources,
this “cheesy, creamy potato casserole” shows up in Mid-western and Southern
cookbooks as well.For Utah, it was
typical for Relief Societies to make this potato dish for grieving families;
giving comfort, not just to the heart, but the body as well.A Blanding, Utah friend, Heidi Murphy, gave
me her family recipe; I’ve enjoyed it as directed, but even played with
different cheeses included such as Swiss, Goat and Gruyere.It is definitely a potato lover’s delight and
accompanies any cooked meat or poultry deliciously; however, it takes two days
to prepare and spontaneity is not a friend of this recipe.

I can hear the huge sighs now and the question, “Oh dear,
what has she done with this tried and true recipe now?”You know me so well, don’t you?As much as I, and my husband, love the taste
and texture of Funeral Potatoes, when we want a potato casserole now, we want
it now!While my recipe is more in line
with an “au gratin” casserole, the comfort can be achieved in two hours,
instead of two days.I still use real
butter.Margarine?Seriously, who, in their right mind, would
use something one molecule away from becoming plastic!Instead of a canned soup, a lightly seasoned
mixture of fresh eggs and real cream seals the deal.Thinly sliced potatoes, sharp Cheddar cheese
enveloped in a rich, creamy sauce; now that’s what I call comfort!To be fair, I am including Heidi’s recipe
along with mine; make both and have a cook-off.

Begin layering 1/3 of
potatoes on bottom of dish; sprinkle 1/3 of onions over potatoes; 1/3 of cheese
spread over all; 5 tablespoons butter; ¼ teaspoon each of ground black pepper
and salt.Repeat except for final layer,
only spread the remaining cheese; no additional butter, black pepper and salt.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat
together eggs, half n’ half, ¼ teaspoon each ground black pepper and salt;
evenly pour over top layer of baking dish.The mixture will work its way down into the layers and bottom.Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45
minutes.Uncover, bake for additional 20
minutes and let settle for 5 minutes before serving.

In a large saucepan,
combine cup of butter, soup and milk, on medium heat, till hot; do not bring to
boil.Whish in onion, cheese, sour
cream, salt and pepper till smooth.

In a 9 x 13 baking dish
(spray with non-stick spray), layer potatoes then sauce (there will be 3 layers
of each).Top with an even layer of corn
flakes; dot with the 8-1/2 Tbsp. of butter.Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.

Next day, preheat oven to
350F.Bake, covered with foil, for 45
minutes; uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.